NRC/ALP in Liberia has for its 3rd time prepared primary school students for the Liberian Primary School Certificate Examinations of the joint examination board of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). This year’s examinations took place on May 27 - 28, 2010 with NRC presenting its last batch of examinations candidates consisting of 2,576 elementary (ALP Level III) students, of which 44% are girls.

The NRC/ALP Project is located in the Western Region of Liberia and has been running over 100 schools in Bomi, Gbarpolu and Grand Cape Mount Counties since 2005. The project is designed based on the education strategy of the Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of Liberia (GoL). The Accelerated Learning Program targets over-aged children (10 to 17 years), who dropped out of school or never went to school because of the war, and allows these children to complete the six years of primary school in three academic years.

Every year, ALP and formal primary school students come from public and private schools in towns and villages all over Liberia to sit the national examinations at a few designated centres. Because NRC/ALP students come from predominantly poor rural families, and some of them from remote communities, NRC provides transportation for its ALP students and teachers to and fro the exams centres and mobilizes host communities to provide accommodations for the visiting students and teachers. Catering contracts are awarded by NRC to residents of host communities to provide feeding for the NRC/ALP students and teachers.

David D. Boakai is from the beneficiary community and has been teaching in one of the NRC/ALP schools since 2007. He accompanied his students to the exams centre at Gbarma Central Elementary & High School in Gbarma, Gbarpolu County. “I am confident that NRC Students will come up high” he said, pointing to the school 60 metres away, where his students were taking their exams.

“NRC/ALP students always produce good results in the national exams. The District Education Officers know this; the examiners know this; everyone knows this because everybody is talking about the good performance of NRC students in the past exams”, David pointed out.

Hawa Fahnbulleh, a student, took her examinations in another centre in Bomi County. Hawa’s education had previously been disrupted because of the war. When she and her family returned to Married Camp she could not attend the conventional primary school because she was over-age. She explained that she was happy when her uncle told her about a special school in her community for children like her. She eventually enrolled in Married Camp ALP School in October 2007. Hawa is now 16 years old and she travelled from Married Camp to sit her first public examinations at Sime Darby Plantation High School.

When I asked her how she felt about the exams, her usual hard facial expression became softened and, using both hands, she gave me a double thumb-up gesture and said “It was fine”.

Hawa is optimistic that she will make it through and she looks forward to enrolling in High School in the next academic year. “When I finish my education, I want to become a nurse”. She concluded

David D. Boakai, the teacher mentioned earlier has a sceptical view: “One thing I’m concerned about is seeing my students in 7th Grade”, he stated, “There are no High Schools in my community and the nearest High School is very far away. I don’t think the parents can afford to send their children far away from them”.

Like David, there is wide scepticism among community members in the NRC’s operational area over the Government of Liberia’s ability to accommodate the huge number of primary school graduates into high schools.

From 1989 to 2003, Liberia was embroiled in a civil war which left people’s lives and infrastructure devastated. Over 75% of the productive capacity and physical infrastructure of the country were destroyed. Since the peace agreement in 2003 followed by successful presidential elections in 2005, considerable political progress has been made by the government to make the transition from conflict to development. However, the government’s efforts to meet his role as the main supplier of education have been met with huge challenges.

Since 2003, the NRC-Liberia Education Programme has been addressing the education need of post war Liberia through its Education Programme comprising ALP, Younger Mothers Program, Adult Literacy, Youth Education Pack (YEP), and School Construction/Rehabilitation. Now, three components of the Education Programme will be phasing out by July 31, 2010.

The NRC Education Program Manager, Fred Magumba, had these words to say concerning the ALP and WAEC. “The ALP curriculum is condensed and intensive, one would doubt whether it actually delivers 6 years primary school education in just 3 years. Witnessing children who joined ALP three years ago and now ready and able to sit the WAEC is a great testimony to this program. As usual, these children will do very well and majority will pass with flying colours. This can only be possible through the seriousness, commitment and hard work of the children, their teachers, NRC staff and the parents”.

Fred emphasized that he feels the urge to thank all those who have contributed positively, including the Ministry of Education, towards the education of these children. “We are now calling upon the Government of Liberia to create possibilities for these children to have access to junior high school education because this is the desire of each of them”, he appealed. The Education Programme Manager pointed out that despite the phasing out of ALP; NRC remains committed to supporting the local community and the education structures to ensure that the foundations that NRC has laid will continue benefiting and contributing towards the development of the children of in Liberia.